PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Forget fist pumps. When Tiger Woods watched his putt on No. 17 roll in — a putt he later admitted was “a joke” — he raised his right arm and extended his index finger high in the air.
No. 1.
Who knows? Maybe he can still get there this week after a remarkable round of U.S. Open golf Saturday at Pebble Beach.
Woods shot 5-under-par 31 on the back nine to post a 5-under 66 for the day and vault from also-ran to big-time contender. He was at 1-under 212 for the tournament, alone in third place, five shots behind leader Dustin Johnson with only one player, Graeme McDowell, in between.
“He’s the best player in the world,” Johnson said. “It’s not a shock to see he’s right there.”
The 66 was Woods’ best score since returning to tournament golf after his controversial winter on the sideline. The putts, on greens he ridiculed as “awful” Thursday, finally started falling, and he started converting on a swing that suddenly rounded into form.
“It’s a process,” Woods said. “You have to just build. All the Opens I’ve won, I’ve had one stretch of nine holes where I put it together.”
It’s a testament to his game that he did it on the back nine at Pebble — the tougher nine, and the nine the leaders were playing with bright sunshine and brisk winds drying out the course and making the greens bumpy.
The highlight of Woods’ round will go down as his second shot on No. 18. Squirreled behind one of the two huge trees on the right side of the fairway, his caddie, Steve Williams, told him he was 260 yards away — the perfect distance to go for it. He crushed a 3-wood, hustled to his left, yelled at the ball, “C’mon, C’mon,” then watched it land 15 feet from the pin.
He two-putted for a birdie and a round of 66 — only one stroke off the 65 he shot on opening day at Pebble in 2000, when he was a different player and went on to win by a record 15 shots.
On this day, though, memories of Torrey Pines — where he won his most recent major — were more apropos. Two years ago at the U.S. Open, he was injured, trying to turn a good Saturday into something better when he hit a chip shot from the side of the 17th green that came out of the rough hot, bounced once and somehow went in. He took his hat off, covered his face, laughed sheepishly. Didn’t mean that to happen. But sometimes it does.
Sort of like his putt on No. 17 at Pebble. Above the hole, 15 feet away, Woods said the only goal there was “don’t throw away a great round now.”
“The putt on 17 was a joke,” he said. “I’m just trying to get it close and walk out of there. And it happened to go in.”
It’s putts like those that can turn players into believers, though Woods never stopped believing, even when others might have.
Tiger’s charge
For the first time in 2010, Tiger Woods is in contention.
His previous finishes:
April 8-11 Masters T4
April 29-May 2 Quail Hollow Championship Cut
May 6-9 The Players Championship WD
June 3-6 The Memorial T19
BESTS
Tom Watson, right:
Remember 1982 and Watson’s Open victory at Pebble Beach? Obviously, Tom does. He fired a 1-under-par 70 Saturday.
Dustin Johnson:
Longball expert fashioned a 66 and jumped into a three-shot lead entering today’s final round.
Tiger Woods:
Turned back the clock with a 5-under 66, including birdies on 16, 17 and 18, and the focus shifted from Phil Mickelson to Tiger.
No. 7:
Played to 99 yards Saturday, downwind. A great golf hole.
WORSTS
Mike Weir:
Talk about getting progressively worse — try 70-79-83 for the 2003 Masters champion from Canada.
Zach Johnson:
Ditto Mr. Johnson. He went 72-77-78 and will get to finish early on Father’s Day.
Phil Mickelson:
This was his chance to steal the spotlight from Tiger; instead, he bogeyed the first two holes and finished seven shots out of the lead.
Jason Preeo:
Denver-area golfer started the day tied for 16th and finished tied for 73rd. There’s always tomorrow, or in this case, today.
The Denver Post
